What is it ?

I have been growing this Cacti for three years.
I never thought of finding out what it is. ^_^
The only place I have ever seen it is at Stanthorpe and that's where I got my first piece.
They grow wild at Stanthorpe. (completely feral)
So they must really like the cold.
Stanthorpe is the only part of this State where it Snows every year.

Sure looks like Echinopsis flowers and bodies from here. I'm not good at species typing Echinopsis. Do you have a close-up photo to help other ID helpers?
--
dean
http://sentientmeat.net/

Hi Dean,

I do have many close-ups of the Flower.
But that link in your reply had me really interested. (did you take those pictures ?)

I love watching documentaries from all over the world.
The Rock Formation on your Link @ http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Tsingy_Ankarana_Madagascar_16-07-2004.JPG/1280px-Tsingy_Ankarana_Madagascar_16-07-2004.JPG looks like where all the Marmosets live ? Is that right ?

Link did not work at first. ^_^

This message was edited Nov 23, 2011 7:49 AM

Oh good, I'm glad you like! It's a new series of mini-profiles and very much a work in progress. I write the posts and snap the lead pictures (posted under nom de plume Sentient Meat) with my handy point-and-shoot. The other photos I credit to the individual photographers (wherever I can find the attribution) and typically link to their web location.

The last photo in the latest post -- of the tsingy (limestone formations) at Ankarana -- was re-posted from the Ankarana National Park website, I believe. They say Ankarana may have the highest density of primates in the world.
http://www.wildmadagascar.org/conservation/parks/Ankarana.html

PS For many cacti, it's useful to get a guess as to the genus (here, Echinopsis) and then search the gallery over at CactiGuide.com or here at DG. Xenomorf and several others have uploaded a huge number of photos here at DG, and Daiv Freeman with many collaborators has uploaded many over at CactiGuide (a free cactus and succulent forum).

Here's the bad news: Echinopsis is a HUGE genus. So in your case, rather than paging through all the Echinopsis candidates, I'd suggest posting a closer shot (ideally showing how many ribs on each stem, even how many spines in each areole) here on DG and over at CactiGuide under "Identification". Here's a link.
http://cactiguide.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=257accbafb05cd7891904be67878c310
--
dean
http://sentientmeat.net/

This message was edited Nov 22, 2011 11:24 PM

I will spend more time looking at your links tomorrow. (very interesting)
It is Dinner time here. ^_^

The Flower Spikes are very short.
As can be seen in this Picture.

Echinopsis schickendanzii? Beautiful flowers. Colleen

This message was edited Nov 23, 2011 6:54 PM

Wow! That display almost makes me want plants with spines. Very beautiful!

This message was edited Nov 23, 2011 6:58 AM

Ginger, your info has the wrong country I think - says Austria, think should be Australia? Austria (Europe) isn't the kind of place many cacti would survive outside!

If only they would grow that well here podster. They are lovely.
C

It could possibly be Echinopsis spachiana or Echinopsis smrziana

Could it be one of the many hybrids?

Are there a lot of introduced cacti species growing in the wild in Australia?

Opuntia ficus-indica is a noxious weed in parts of Australia, for one.

The main species that are pests in Australia are Opuntia stricta - that was the species that totally overran parts ofthe country about a century ago and Opuntia aurantiaca, Tiger Pear cactus. Tiger Pear seems to be the most troublesome species currently from what I've read (its a low growing cholla like plant with barbed spines and freely detaching joints, so it ends up all over the place, its also hard to detect in long grass). Other pest species include Opuntia imbricata and Harrisia species.
Most are controlled, but cannot be eradicated by, the Cactoblastis moth and Cochineal bugs.

http://www.northwestweeds.nsw.gov.au/prickly_pear_history.htm

This message was edited Nov 23, 2011 6:02 PM

Thank you one and all for all your contributions.
Too many to individually reply to.

I know the Prickly Pear very well.

When I mentioned 'Feral' at the start I just meant it gets absolutely no TLC at all.
It only grows in two gardens where originally planted some five years ago.
So Feral was a bad choice of words.

Here is a close-up of a Flower.

I'm still searching through all the new links.

kell.

Maybe E candicans? Colleen

I understood your choice of words. I was just wondering about other species. Your plants look so healthy, I am jealous.
C

Thanks ctmorris.
RE: Echinopsis candicans ?

I looked it up and found a DG plant file.
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/2009/11/07/Stake/935ca9.jpg This Picture is very similar.
But I think the Flower is different.

The whole Thread is here. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/266553/

Oops forgot to add this Picture from Mt Barney region.

This is Prickly Pear. (Opuntia stricta)

Good picture but I'd say that its Opuntia ficus-indica, not O stricta - stricta has spines.

I have Googled both and spent around an hour looking at google pictures and I feel you might be right DMersh.
I have known these Cacti all my life and never gave them much thought.
I have seen hungry Cattle eat them down to the ground at Cunnamulla.

Cattle have to be hard pressed to eat prickly pear, its not an ideal substitute for grass etc.

At Cunnamulla there are Sheep Property's bigger than some European Countries.
All that grow on thousands of acres of land out there is Mulga Bush/Trees.
When they all get eaten there is only Prickly Pears left to eat.

Because of all the Flooding Rains we have gotten this year, there is no shortage of grass out there at the moment.
Wild Flowers have never been better, this is one of them.

What a pretty flower. Ranchers sometimes burn off the prickly parts so cows can eat the pads.
C

Luther Burbank hybridized a "spineless" prickly pear which he hoped would find a place in the food chain as food for both cattle and humans. Alas, the experiment failed when cattle were less than enthusiastic about devouring cactus. A few nurseries still sell "Burbank spineless" ficus-indica. it is supposed to be slightly smaller (10 feet max) than the standard variety and is said to flower more heavily and produce more fruit.

Thanks 'Ç' for that info.

48flash, What a pity the "spineless" prickly pear never took off.
I have never heard of this story before.
That's one of the things I like about being on DG.
Always something new to learn every day.

A very wise man once told me the day you stop learning is the day you die.

Isn't there a naturally occuring spineless Opuntia, or several?

Prickly pears are actually pretty useful for forage and fodder in dry places. I think part of the problem with cactus pads as food is the nocturnal acid accumulation that they go through as part of their normal metabolism, but you can avoid a lot of that if you harvest them at the right time of day.

Your average cow is not going to view a cactus with much interest if it's spiny and there are other sources of food around. Many Opuntias will be budding and growing (and mostly left alone) while it's green and the animals are busy grazing or whatever. But when there's nothing else to eat, especially during times of serious drought, livestock can get by on nopales. They can go days longer without water if they have cactus pads to eat, which can be a life or death thing in certain scenarios. Apparently this is a trick that helps ranchers avoid the low meat prices associated with droughts, to put it in economic terms.

I was reading about this tonight and I stumbled across a factoid: one person can singe the spines off of 5 metric tons fresh weight of native cacti in a day. Imagine that. Presumably with a blowtorch of one sort or another. I know in some places they douse the barrel cacti in kerosene then set them on fire so as to de-spine them for the pigs. Whatever gets the job done, I guess.

The spineless Opuntias have been problematic because they can revert back to spinier forms when subjected to intense selective pressure (like grazing). That's part of what went wrong when the prickly pears went feral in Australia.

Wow Baja,

This thread is sure turning out to be a very informatine one.

Thanks for that information.

What is 'Newtons Third Law ?'
I'm guessing it is:

I have seen them use a blow torch, not sure what the fuel was and yes indeed when there is drought, cattle do eat the cleaned pads.
Baja, are there species of Opuntia that are spineless? I always thought there were.

Cheryl is my name, nice to meet you Kell

Thanks Cheryl,

"Arlington, TX."

Is that Texas ?
If so the temperature in Texas is much as we have it here in western Queensland.
HOT HOT and Dry.

Apparently there are not! All this time growing the spineless variety and I never bothered to find out the species. Oh well live and learn.
C

Oh yes, hot and then some. Dry, forget about it! We are smack dab in the middle of a record and horrific drought here. Texas has some bad summer weather. Even in a good year we can have many days over 100 with very little rain. Last winter I lost several cactus due to ice storms. Paradise...
C

Hey Cheryl,
What about showing us all some pictures of your Opuntia ?
You know a picture is worth a thousand words. ^_^
I for one would love to learn about Cacti from all over the world.

kell.

I dont have many pics but think I have one on my camera. I have one cholla, imbricata and 3 opuntias. Let me find the spineless form pic.

This month (November 2011) has been the dryest month since 1914.
And thankfully it began to rain today. (and three more days predicted)
One more week and I would have had to buy water to top-up the Swimming Pool.

This is a potted plant. I had a lot of pads and just threw them into a few pots. The "mitten" developed on its own and it amused me so I took a pic.